Stubborn and Rough
by Stariceling
Summary: Going to see the damage Lee has sustained during the chunin exam, Sasuke is surprised at what he finds. Sasuke/Lee


Written for the first kiss meme for my friend RK, who requested Sasuke/Lee. Takes place right before Sasuke disappears from the hospital (mid-chunin exam) Every time I write Sasuke he ends up being such a jerk! (laugh)

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He hadn't seen Lee face off against Gaara, but he knew the results. Even though Lee lacked ninjutsu and genjustu, Sasuke had to recognize that he was a formidable enough opponent based on his speed alone. It would have been invaluable to see that match, to have a better idea of what he was up against in the next round. Now he was forced to settle for second-hand accounts.

Of course, when he saw the condition Lee was in for himself, Sasuke didn't think the other boy was up to being interrogated. More importantly, trying to get details directly out of him would be as good as admitting he needed help. After their earlier 'draw,' implying that he needed Lee's help for anything was the last thing Sasuke wanted to do. He had simply wanted to see the damage for himself.

Apart from the bulky outline of what Sasuke took to be a cast around his left arm, the only injuries not obscured by the sheets were the scratches on Lee's face. Yet, there were other indications of how much damage must have been done, even without seeing through sheets and bandages. Sasuke himself had refused to stay abed once he was properly awake, yet Lee wasn't even moving.

Lee stared blankly at the ceiling. He didn't so much as blink when Sasuke walked straight into his room uninvited, or even when he stepped up to the bed, moving to where he knew he had to be in Lee's line of sight.

Was Lee senseless, or simply ignoring him? Sasuke didn't know him well enough to be sure, but the idea of being ignored by Lee grated on his nerves.

Sasuke punched his fist into the pillow beside Lee's head, and was rewarded by having Lee's eyes focus on him at last. There was recognition in that gaze. Lee certainly knew who he was, he just didn't seem to care. It was possible that he had been dosed with painkillers until he was too drugged to even move, but Sasuke didn't quite feel like accepting that as an excuse.

"I was looking forward to finishing our match during the exam, but I guess it would be pointless now." Watching Lee's eyes, Sasuke knew his words registered, and that they stung, so he mercilessly continued, "I'm sure you're not worth the effort."

Lee's hand shot out to grip Sasuke's arm. His eyes were suddenly clearer, more focused. However much he had been drugged, it was obvious he would recover from that state quickly if given the right motivation.

"I suppose it would have been pointless anyway. All I have to do is surpass you in taijutsu and you won't stand a chance against me." Sasuke reached down and grabbed hold of Lee's left arm though the sheets, twisting it, intending to put pressure on it until Lee flinched, to test just how deadened he really was to the world.

Instead of wincing or trying to escape Sasuke's grip, Lee fought back. His right hand shot up and struck a blow against Sasuke's throat. He was still fast, and Sasuke realized that Lee was aware enough that he must have felt pain from the pressure on his injured arm, he had simply refused to acknowledge it.

Even if Lee was faster, Sasuke had both of his hands against one of Lee's, and Lee was still flat on his back, apparently unable to move enough to get out from under Sasuke. Sasuke wondered how much damage Gaara had done to Lee's legs, even as he finally caught Lee's wrist and immobilized his hand so that he couldn't strike out again.

Sitting on Lee to keep him down, Sasuke pinned his good hand beside his head so that he couldn't use it to defend himself. Lee's eyes were burning, not with hatred, but with the determination to keep fighting. Sasuke couldn't help responding to a challenge like the one in Lee's eyes, even knowing that it was pointless to fight him now.

Lee still wasn't giving up. He jerked himself up to head-butt Sasuke square in the face, making Sasuke's head snap back. There was a sudden shock of pain in Sasuke's nose from the impact, and he was aware of a trickle of warmth alerting him that the blow had been hard enough to make his nose bleed. Apparently Lee was more hard-headed than Sasuke had given him credit for, in more ways than one.

Sasuke grabbed Lee by his hair with his other hand, twisting his fingers in the strands and graining enough of a hold to pull his head back so that he couldn't do that again. Was Lee going to try to strike out at him with his injured arm next? Sasuke waited for attempt, but Lee only stared up at him, breathing hard through clenched teeth.

"Are you out of moves already? I had no idea you were so limited."

"Feh!" was all Lee had to say in argument, possibly because Sasuke had jabbed one knee into his ribs to punctuate the taunt. Sasuke felt something wet land on his lower lip at the same moment, and his first assumption was that–deprived of other ways to fight back–Lee had spit on him.

Sasuke bobbed his head down, and gave that fleck of moisture back to Lee. He sealed their mouths together, but from the moment they touched he was no longer sure if he was trying to punish Lee, to put him down somehow, or to demand something from Lee's firm lips.

It took several seconds for the logical part of Sasuke's brain to catch up to the fact that he was kissing Lee. He jerked back, breaking the contact and staring down at Lee in shock, as if it was the other boy who had done something unbelievable to him. Some impulse in the back of his mind immediately insisted that he wanted to do it again, but Sasuke's pride overruled the intense desire to keep trying to devour Lee's unyielding mouth whole.

He would have liked to blame that unthinking impulse on something. He might blame it on being forced to interact with Naruto so much. Maybe Naruto's idiocy was contagious. At the same time, he couldn't lie to himself. That kiss had been more intense than his unintentional lip-lock with Naruto because he had made it so, because after the initial contact he had wanted more.

Lee tugged his wrist out of Sasuke's grip, shifting his hand down and interlacing their fingers. There was a question written plainly in his too-wide eyes, one Sasuke didn't want to answer. He looked over at their hands instead. Palm-to-palm, fingers intertwined. . . It didn't make sense to see his own hand in such a position.

Sasuke slid off of Lee and off of the bed, pulling his hand free as he did so. He reached up to scrub the back of his hand across his treacherous mouth, but that only reenforced the memory of Lee's lips against his instead of wiping the kiss away.

"I'm going to defeat Gaara," Sasuke declared, turning his back on Lee. He had gone and shown another weakness to Lee, even though he should have been stronger without contest now. If he could defeat Gaara, who had already defeated Lee, that would have to be as good as finally handing down a real defeat to Lee as well.

He heard Lee moving behind him and added hastily, "But I'm not going to do it for you."

Before he could give in to another stupid impulse, Sasuke stalked out of Lee's hospital room, closing the door behind him. His last glimpse of Lee was only out of the corner of his eye. He was sitting up in bed at last, a look of stubborn determination clear on his face.


End file.
